Firephage
Firephage is a disease that only Weegee Clones can get. It was created as an accidental byproduct of Weegee and his clones losing their powers, as well as Luigi creating the identically-named virus with the help of some strange weegee.... Causes The only way to get Firephage is to come into contact with fire flower material. This includes pollen and seeds that may be released from flowers or victims, touching flowers or victims, but doesn't include the pure radiation. This is probably because the radiation on its own cannot be used to gain fire forms. Normally, Firephage was only present in a few Weegee Clones, which were isolated as soon as signs were shown of the condition. But after the Firephage Virus was created (which is separate to the Firephage parasite), it became more common. The virus increased the chances of infection to exactly 67.89732% (which is very exact) and allowed any Weegee Clone to get it through obtaining the virus, mainly through contaminated breath. The Firephage virus has no other symptoms than increasing Firephage chances, so many Weegee Clones are unaware of infection. Symptoms *Stage 1 Depending on how badly a victim is exposed, the rate of how quickly the symptoms progress changes. Every victim will start to see discoloration in the area they made contact, and sores/bumps will begin to develop. If the victim breathed in enough spores/seeds, they could experience these changes in their internal organs, causing a very early death. Firephage will act like a parasite, sucking the nutrients from your body to fuel its growth. *Stage 2 Next, a more proper root system will start to take form inside the victim's body. They will experience more lumps, some growing from the skin, some breaking through it, and earlier lumps will begin to form little flowers that can spew pollen. If the victim is still alive, the roots will become very painful, due to the stretching and pain. The skin will become almost completely discolored. *Stage 3 The root system will eventually take over the brain, alive or not, and replenish it, allowing the victim to live again, but now with the sole mindset of doing what's best for the firephage. A giant flower will also start to grow from the brain, which will look more like a real fire flower when it matures. Treatment The only known treatment is to destroy or amputate the affected areas. In the early stages, assuming the damage isn't internal, this is easy enough, but once stage 2 begins, there is little hope to stopping firephage. The only thing to do is to vaporize the body completely so it cannot grow or spread. For the virus itself (which increases the chances of the parasite), a vaccine was created. The vaccine is mandatory in Weegee-controlled areas of the galaxy and is a street drug in AGD parts, due to most Weegee Clones remaining being left to be infected. Behavior Victims will start out by feeling lots of pain. Their behavior, however, will remain largely unaltered by the Firephage itself until Stage 3. At Stage 3, the clones brains become altered. Though they still possess some intelligence, they no longer think very freely or possess emotion, and instead just think about what would be best for the Firephage to spread. This can include a self sacrifice. Other Differences In terms of power, the firephage victims are less powerful, but aggression is usually maxed out. They cannot control themselves very much, and really rely on either brute force or a very basic strategy (such as hiding and waiting) for attacking. Firephage victims can also die, by destroying the flower (which will start up on top of the brain, then grow through the skull and head), which will cause the victim to self sacrifice in some way to another flower/clone. Their brains can also be destroyed, which will cause them to be immobile (though the flower will still live for some time). Examples Here are some examples of firephage and its effects on Weegee Clones. Here we have a root, some growths, both with and without flowering pieces, and a fully matured fire flower piece. These are just general examples, the look will vary somewhat from victim to victim. Here we have Weegee Clones under the effects of firephage. The left clone has a few minor growths which can be removed, while the right clone has become a zombie. Take note of the incomplete flower growing through his head. Category:Diseases Category:Deadly Viruses